Encounter with a wildlife officer

[Duckdog17]

I've had a couple of negative WO encounters myself.
I'd be real interested if some of these were the same WO.
The one I'm referring to...his initials are BB. I will go on the record as saying this guy has no business being in the position he's in (if he still is).
And, I have absolutely no use for him whatsoever.

Here's a good one for ya...
3 guys on my job...
Field hunting for waterfowl in a Missouri corn field.
Some of the corn is still standing because it was too wet at harvest.
They used some of the standing corn stalks to camo their layout blinds, knocking the ears of corn off.
Ticketed for baiting for the (so I'm told), 8-10 ears of corn laying about...
Amongst a whole field of corn...

Like someone mentioned above...it's the abuse of power that I just can't stomach.

 

[duckn66]

If I'm thinking of the CO your talking about your right, he is an azz.

 

[KU Pheasant Hunter]

I have many friends that are Kansas game wardens and they are few and far between. some of them cover up to three counties and said there is never enough time in a day to get to all the problems that they have to deal with. On top they get paid nothing and have to constantly deal with idiots everywhere.

True they do have to cover a lot of territory in some areas. But they make $50,000 - $60,000. I wouldn't say that is nothing.

Though we could use a few more of them, for sure!!

 

[mnmthunting]

Being a conservation officer might be one of the worst jobs there is if your an outdoorsman that enjoys hunting. Why would they want to be a CO? Power, a badge? tough guy scenario? In some cases, afraid so.
We can't lump all CO's together though. Just like we can't lump all cops or any other groups or professions to a couple examples.

Think about it, the rest of us are hunting, watching a good birddog on point or a flusher doing his thing. The warden is working, probably long hours.
Hunters are not all on the "up and up' either. We got to have CO's, to bad their not all dedicated.
Be patient.:cheers:

 

[matto]

Anyone ever checked by a state trooper? I was once. A group of us were hunting a posted CRP field that was right next to a highway. We had permission, I had talked to the landowner that morning, albeit not in writing.

The trooper pulled over and waved us over to check our permission. Since our permission wasn't in writing I had to dig out my cell phone and give him the landowner's phone number. The trooper called and the landowner gave him the all clear. After that, on a lark, he decided to check our licenses. All clear there too.

Keep in mind this incident is occuring on the shoulder of a 60mph highway with cars whizzing by at speed. My dog was an energetic, untrained pup at the time--I'm extremely glad I carry a short leash in my coat for this kind of situation. I had to hold onto the leash with one hand, dig out my cell with the other (and then later my wallet with my license), while the trooper was holding my unloaded gun.

He was professional and courteous, as were we, and no citations were issued. I just wish we could have conducted the whole affair in a place slightly safer than the shoulder of a highway.

 

[Prairie Drifter]

KU, check your numbers! That's not even close in Kansas. Most Leiutenants don't get that!

 

[KU Pheasant Hunter]

KU, check your numbers! That's not even close in Kansas. Most Leiutenants don't get that!

Ok sorry, with the State portion of retirement and health insurance, total compensation package probably range from $45,000 - $70,000


2011 Melvin Madorin Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer IV $66,589.07
2011 Jeffrey Bender Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer IV $58,946.75
2011 Robin Ladner Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer IV $58,678.80
2011 John Stark Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer IV $58,339.68
2011 Michael Little Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer IV $54,972.56
2011 Jason Ott Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer IV $53,568.48
2011 Troy Brown Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer IV $53,555.22
2011 Rick Campbell Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer III $53,491.37
2011 Terry Gropp Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $53,195.30
2011 Matthew Stucker Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer III $52,045.42
2011 David Adams Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $50,995.08
2011 Jason Sawyers Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer III $50,978.01
2011 Shane Zeigler Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer IV $50,131.32
2011 Jason Deal Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $50,049.96
2011 Robert Funke Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer III $49,877.68
2011 Scott Hanzlicek Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer III $49,768.56
2011 David Ellis Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer III $49,598.16
2011 Larry Hastings Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer III $49,585.54
2011 Keith Rather Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer III $49,248.16
2011 Douglas Whiteaker Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $48,780.24
2011 Randal Benteman Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $48,673.90
2011 Mark Billinger Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $48,648.65
2011 Richard Kelly Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $48,574.18
2011 Glenn Cannizzaro Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $48,529.26
2011 Benjamin Thurman Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer III $48,256.48
2011 Lance Hockett Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $47,560.12
2011 Gregory Salisbury Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $47,516.50
2011 Phillip Kirkland Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $47,495.68
2011 Larry Stones Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $47,485.92
2011 Jimmy Bussone Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $47,321.68
2011 Danny Melson Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer III $47,259.17
2011 Jason Barker Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $47,235.37
2011 Bennett Jedlicka Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $46,469.74
2011 Marvin Peterson Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $46,342.73
2011 Brian Hanzlick Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $46,214.17
2011 Elwyn Mein Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $46,208.29
2011 Jeff Goeckler Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $45,964.36
2011 Jacob Brooke Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $45,671.15
2011 Dennis Zehr Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $44,768.55
2011 Brad Hageman Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $44,058.76
2011 Jason Hawman Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer III $43,986.45
2011 Eric Deneault Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $43,917.77
2011 Christopher Becker Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $43,817.94
2011 James Cherry Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $43,757.82
2011 Alan Midcap Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $43,649.57
2011 Thane Loring Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $43,611.56
2011 Michael Hammerschmidt Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $43,603.37
2011 Jason Sunderland Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $43,560.92
2011 Matthew Hanvey Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer II $43,138.62
2011 Lynn Thompson Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer III $42,876.65
2011 Terry Mills Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $42,863.50
2011 Troy Hurlbut Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $42,684.00
2011 Clinton Lee Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $42,601.76
2011 Darren Brown Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $42,584.00
2011 Ryan Smidt Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $42,583.97
2011 Steve Seibel Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $42,547.91
2011 Hal Kaina Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $42,535.88
2011 Micheal Hopper Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $42,513.33
2011 Aaron Scheve Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $42,484.41
2011 Sean Williams Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $42,465.75
2011 Tyson Nielsen Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $42,316.40
2011 James Manning Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $42,248.77
2011 Lynn Koch Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $42,168.98
2011 Todd Robinson Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $41,962.61
2011 Jeffrey Clouser Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $41,933.59
2011 Justin Koehn Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $41,933.19
2011 Jesse Gehrt Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $41,697.54
2011 Bruce Husman Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $41,691.95
2011 Levi Gantenbein Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $41,459.09
2011 Kurt Hudson Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $41,367.43
2011 Ted Craig Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $41,150.46
2011 Brian Haug Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $41,148.07
2011 Heath Barta Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $41,066.22
2011 Joshua DeHoux Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $41,040.72
2011 Gregory Leamon Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $41,002.40
2011 Vince Wonderlich Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $41,002.40
2011 Jason Harrold Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,983.24
2011 Christopher Stout Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,964.08
2011 Michael McGinnis Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,954.50
2011 Landen Cleveland Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,916.18
2011 Michael Peterson Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,916.18
2011 Andrew Meyer Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,906.60
2011 Jon Entwhistle Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,887.44
2011 Benjamin Womelsdorf Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,887.44
2011 Scott Stoughton Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,829.96
2011 Tyler Burt Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,829.88
2011 Andrew Terhune Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,791.64
2011 Kyle Hoover Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,788.20
2011 Jeffrey Cakin Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,772.48
2011 Daniel Haneke Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,772.48
2011 Kevin Wood Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,772.48
2011 Virgil Corbin Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,761.14
2011 Robert Gordon Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,756.89
2011 Scott Skucius Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,743.38
2011 Mark Nepote Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,724.34
2011 David Breth Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,688.44
2011 Justin Wren Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,679.33
2011 Ricky Larson Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,670.10
2011 Michelle Campbell Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,647.19
2011 Alexander Goossen Ks Dept of Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officer I $40,532.98

 

[turtle]

KU thanks for the numbers. As I suspected all under paid. I make as much as them as a sewer jockey and didn't have to go to college. Maybe Kansas needs to give them a raise. Dealing with people like us deserves a raise.

 

[KU Pheasant Hunter]

KU thanks for the numbers. As I suspected all under paid. I make as much as them as a sewer jockey and didn't have to go to college. Maybe Kansas needs to give them a raise. Dealing with people like us deserves a raise.

True! But good luck with the State of Kansas giving raises!!! Hard to come by the past 5 years!!

 

[Thrasher]

Kind of discouraging. They deserve more, but half are making twice what a public school teacher makes.

 

[KU Pheasant Hunter]

Kind of discouraging. They deserve more, but half are making twice what a public school teacher makes.

That's the hard truth. My wife is a special education teacher with her masters degree and works with severely handicapped children. She makes less then over half on the list. I'm sure there our other jobs that are even more difficult. I'm not complaining about what anyone makes, we all make choices, But before crying poor, in most cases there are always others in more difficult situations.

 

[gsh lover]

Just curious,what district is she in?

 

[KU Pheasant Hunter]

Just curious,what district is she in?

She doesn't work for a specific district. She works for a Special Ed coop. They provide services for several small rural schools/preschools as well as private schools that have children who require services.

If the real curiosity is her pay, its $40,614

 

[Prairie Drifter]

Quick glance doesn't show any CO 1's at or over the $50,000. They're most of what you're seeing in the field. 3's and above are administrators. Been 8 years since the last raise. Add to that the State not putting in their match in the retirement fund for 17 years and it's no wonder that the State retirement fund is in trouble.

 

[brettberry]

Conservation Officers Conduct

Yeah, I see both sides...
Personally, I would understand what it felt like to be followed, etc.

However, I'm personally fed up with all the out of state hunters. Bottom line is the Dept. of Wildlife and Parks is sold out to big money. The number of trophy bucks is way down and their head is stuck into the sand.

So, I kind of wish that the Conservation Officer has a lot of success catching and busting out of staters, many whom are illegal.

On another note, my pheasant tally for the year was 1.5

 

[UplandHntr]

Yeah, I see both sides...
Personally, I would understand what it felt like to be followed, etc.

However, I'm personally fed up with all the out of state hunters. Bottom line is the Dept. of Wildlife and Parks is sold out to big money. The number of trophy bucks is way down and their head is stuck into the sand.

So, I kind of wish that the Conservation Officer has a lot of success catching and busting out of staters, many whom are illegal.

On another note, my pheasant tally for the year was 1.5

you are really painting with a broad brush there my friend. I think you are way off. I think overall upland hunters are a very honest group of folks who genuinely watch out for each other and follow the law to the best of their ability.

Good to know how you feel about me though. I assume Im an out of stater but of course you didn't complete your profile so nobody really knows where you reside.

 

[mustistuff]

you are really painting with a broad brush there my friend. I think you are way off. I think overall upland hunters are a very honest group of folks who genuinely watch out for each other and follow the law to the best of their ability.

Good to know how you feel about me though. I assume Im an out of stater but of course you didn't complete your profile so nobody really knows where you reside.

remember, you're and out of stater someplace, kinda like it puts you in the same group, better if you would lighten up a bit, you could, if actually interested find a study that says most of the hunting trouble is caused by the local's that think they own the place and not the gentlemen that travels for a nice experience enjoying the outdoor's,

cheers

 

[mnmthunting]

Just about every member of these forums does out of their state hunting as Non-Residents.
I can't picture any of them being or doing illegal activities.

 

[kansasbrittany]

Just about every member of these forums does out of their state hunting as Non-Residents.
I can't picture any of them being or doing illegal activities.

I wouldn't suggest that NR's don't cause some problems because I've seen a FEW instances of them poaching our big game (newspapers). The NR's I've hunted with paint a very different picture in my mind. They spend more time thinking about the "hunter's image" when they're here than anyone in my family that lives here. If weren't for the NR's on this forum, I never would've considered taking time out of my day to pick up someone else's trash. Now, so long as nobody is following me, I stop along the road when leaving and pick up all the trash in the ditch(es). NR's actually "taught" me why this was important.

Finally, I hope SD continues to welcome NR's with open arms! Oh, and MT, and CA, and all the other places on the ole bucket list.

 

[KsHusker]

If we eliminated NR deer hunters a lot of problems would be solved. Im guessing thats that the poster was referring to.


Im not a fan of outfitters and hope all of the wildlife officers focus on enforcement with those guys/their customers.